The Brightest Flame
by The Flash Pirates
Summary: How the Phantom Lord Arc should have ended. Natsu must save Lucy from Gajeel. What will happen if he succeeds? One-Shot. First NaLu! I appreciate all reviews. Even short ones :-D. Thanks and enjoy the read!


Authors Note: So it's been way too long since I posted something and I'm really sorry about that. Here's a one-shot for how the Phantom Lord Arc should have ended. My first action/romance fic so let me know how I did.

Schools been tough but I'll really try to update quicker. So stick around and enjoy the story! All rights reserved. Picture- JGrzybek!

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><p>"Damn" scowled Gajeel as he stared down his hostage, Lucy Heartfeilia. Not only had her father not warned them about how troublesome she could be, but now, he was stuck babysitting her while the rest of his guild mates got to fight Fairy Tail.<p>

"God I'm so freakin bored. Might as well pass the time" stated Gajeel while walking over to Lucy. Turning his arm into an iron pillar, he sent it flying into her gut, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying into a wall with a crash.

"Oh man. Not a bad sound at all. I could get used to this" stated the mage maniacally. "Gajeel, isn't that enough. Master's going to be pissed and" began a spectating phantom mage.

Sending his iron arm into the man's face, all the other witnesses cringed at the sound of the man's face breaking on impact. "Shut up trash. It's the master's fault this is happening. Leaving me here while he deals with the fairy butt chumps. I just wanna have some fun too" stated Gajeel simply.

Beaten up and bruised, and after being sent into a wall by one of Gajeel's attacks Lucy rose to her feet while laughing slightly. This gained the attention of the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"What's so funny girly? You one of those masochists who like to get hit. Because I can do this all day!" yelled Gajeel as he again swung his massive pillar arm at the girl and pinned her to the wall before letting her fall.

Whimpering slightly, Lucy stood up once again. "Wow, Phantom Lord really is full of idiots. I'm laughing because of how pitiful your display of power is. Attacking a defenseless girl? I'm not afraid of you losers at all" finished the blonde with a smirk on her face.

"Ooh? You've got some balls bluffing like that, princess. Even if it was the truth, I could always change it" said Gajeel sadistically as his face shadowed over in evil. Hitting Lucy, this time with his bare fist, he smirked as she went down once again.

Making no noise, Lucy got right back up. The same smirk and resolve still evident on her face. "Tsk. What a lame reaction. If you don't at least scream, I'll keep up the punishment. Then you'll really be in trouble" stated the dragon slayer as he prepared another strike.

"If that's the case, why don't you try to kill me? Oh yeah, you can't because you're just a hired thug. Not only that, but if you did you would be in bigger trouble" taunted Lucy.

"Sounds interesting. How so princess?" said Gajeel playing along for now.

Wiping some blood from her lip the blonde mage continued. "If you were stupid enough to kill me, Fairy Tail would never forgive you. You'd be cowering under the ever stretching shadow of the strongest guild every day for the rest of your life. That's the kind of guild they are" spoke Lucy proudly.

"Oh, that sounds like fun too. I'd get to kick some fairy ass every day" spoke Gajeel excitedly. "Screw the master and your daddy paying us. Let's try that!" shouted the dragon slayer as he charged the blonde with two iron buzz-saw arms.

"Gajeel you idiot stop. Don't!" shouted the man's helpless guild mates.

With her eyes now wide at the thought that this might be the end, Lucy could only think one thing. "_Natsu, I'm sorry I couldn't make it out of this to see you once more."_ As if the gods had intervened, the ground under Gajeel began breaking.

A fiery inferno came rising through the floor to reveal Natsu. The fired up, pink haired dragon slayer sent a hard right hook to Gajeel sending him flying back. Catching himself in midair, the iron man back flipped and landed on a knee facing his assailant.

"I knew it. I noticed your smell Salamander" said Gajeel excitedly.

"Natsu!" cried out Lucy happily.

With his flames igniting around him in the form of a phoenix, Natsu powered himself up in a mighty roar. "Gajeel! You'll pay ten-fold bastard!"

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><p>"Oh man, it's too easy to lure you out Salamander" said Gajeel while getting to his feet.<p>

"Well when you play dirty, it can't be helped, Iron Dragon" spoke Natsu clearly not rattled by Gajeel's taunt. "Lucy are you ok?" asked the pinkette worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm fine now that you're here" smiled the blonde happy that she was saved.

"_Thank god. I don't know what I would've done if I was too late" _thought Natsu before shaking the solemn thought away.

Glaring at the Iron Dragon Slayer, Natsu cracked his knuckles in preparation of the impending fight. "Get back Lucy."

"Gajeel" yelled one of the Iron Slayer's guild mates. "Stay outta this weaklings. This is gunna be fun!" yelled Gajeel as he charged at Natsu with his iron column arm extended.

"Bring it" shouted the Fairy Tail mage as he also charged at the Iron Dragon Slayer. His fists ablaze with flames.

Gajeel launched his iron forward at Natsu who side stepped and caught it. Spinning Gajeel, Natsu launched him towards a wall. Landing feet first on the wall, Gajeel blocked his follow-up attack with his arm, causing a small crater to form on the wall and dust to rise.

Throwing Natsu away, he jumped out of the smoke cloud only to take a flaming fist to the face. Getting sent flying to the opposite wall, a new crater was formed around the Iron Dragon. Brushing his fist across his now slightly bruised face, he looked up to see Natsu still approaching. "_Shit I'll have to block again_" thought Gajeel.

"**Talons of the Fire Dragon**" shouted Natsu as he sent a front flip flaming axe kick at Gajeel, sending him back into the wall he was on and causing a small explosion of flames.

"Holy crap run!"

"Keep us out of this idiot!"

"These guys are crazy!"

"Why does this always happen!"

These were what some of what Phantom Lord's mages were screaming as they tried to avoid getting caught up in the battle.

"Lucy are you okay?" asked Happy as he ran over to his blonde friend.

"Happy" called out Lucy in surprise. "I've never seen Natsu like this before"

"Aye. Neither have I. But Natsu is really fired up right now and he's on our side. Lucky!" spoke Happy happily.

"Yeah" said Lucy. "You're right"

"Well aren't you uppity fairy tail trash.

"Same to you. You hurt my Lucy. So I'm going to bend that face of yours and turn it into an iron sewer cap" said Natsu flaring up slightly.

"Heahe. Sounds fun! Come try it!" yelled Gajeel as they both sprinted at each other.

Flaming fists met with iron ones and Iron kicks clashed with fire kicks. Gajeel extended his iron pillar arm and launched it at Natsu. Natsu jumped over it as it crashed into the floor and landed a drop kick on Gajeel's head. Absorbing the contact, Gajeel slashed at Natsu which sent him stumbling back.

"What's the hell's that dangerous looking weapon" asked Natsu as he turned to face his opponent who now had a spiked armament.

"Oh this. It's my Iron Dragon Sword and it'll rip you to shreds" shouted Gajeel as he charged forward. His sword's blades now spinning wildly.

"That kitchen knife. That aint nothing" said Natsu arrogantly. Gajeel sent slashes at Natsu left and right while the pinkette could do nothing but evade. "I thought it was nothing. Can't stop it like before, huh!" taunted Gajeel.

Natsu couldn't answer so he kept dodging. Gajeel send another slash at the pinkette. And then another, and finally he sent a massive cross slash at him which caused a lot of collateral damage.

"Shit we're caught up again!"

"Damn it's only us!"

"Stop complaining and run!"

More cries from the Phantom Lord spectators. Gajeel was starting to get annoyed but knew he had to stay focused.

"Since it seems you move pretty well, let's get more serious huh" asked Gajeel as a green magic circle appeared under him.

"You're doing enough damage Gajeel, you don't need to power up" said a guild mate who was swept up in the fight.

"Shut it moron" yelled Gajeel as his guild mate coward in fear.

"Fine by me, I'm all fired up you scrap metal freak" said Natsu back to him as he prepared to attack.

"Is that right. Well you asked for it" said Gajeel before his magic power flared. His skin now like iron scales, the Iron Dragon Slayer stared down his enemy. "You're in deep shit now, Salamander."

"His skin is covered in iron scales" said Lucy surprised. "_For two Dragon Slayer mages to battle like this. What's going to happen?_" thought the blonde.

"Iron Dragon Slayer Magic is scary" said Happy while hiding behind Lucy's leg.

"I'll destroy you fairy trash" yelled Gajeel as he charged at Natsu. "**Hard Fist of the Iron Dragon!" **yelled Gajeel as he punched at the Fire Dragon Slayer. Natsu blocked it with his forearm only to regret it later.

He was sent flying into a wall forming a large crater. His arm now swollen and black and blued, Natsu stood on his knee with a pained expression.

"Well that made a nice sound. Ya think it's broken?" teased Gajeel.

"You wish bastard" shouted Natsu. "_Damn it hurts like hell though_."

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><p>"Natsu was injured in one hit" yelled Lucy in disbelief.<p>

"Those scales must be made out of the hardest iron" shouted Happy shocked as well.

Not allowing him to take a break, Gajeel began his offensive on Natsu. He send powerful attacks at him constantly and landed all of them. Laughing at the fun he was having, he sent one more powerful kick towards Natsu's face.

Dodging it by dropping to the floor, the pressure from the kick missed the Fire Dragon Slayer and slashed the ground behind him and sweeping up some Phantom Lord mages.

"What power" whispered Lucy in awe at what she saw.

Going for the counter attack, Natsu sent a straight jab at Gajeel's face. Making impact, steam erupted from his hand and the Iron Dragon Slayer's face. Although it was a clean hit, Gajeel did not show any reaction.

"These scales make all of your attacks useless" stated the wild haired man as he grinned evilly. Noticing the pain from punching pure iron, Natsu fell to the floor with a blood curdling scream.

"Doesn't hurt. Nope not at all" screamed Natsu as he rolled around on the floor.

"Sure it doesn't" said Happy as he sweat dropped. "_This is looking bad_" thought the blue cat.

"Enough pretending you're okay, Salamander" yelled Gajeel as he head-butted Natsu further into the ground. Going for a follow-up hit, Natsu jumped out of the way and back flipped to make space between them.

"You oversized cooking pot, I'll blow you away." Sucking in air, Natsu lined himself up with Gajeel and he mimicked him.

"**Roar of the** **Fire Dragon**"

"**Roar of the** **Iron Dragon**"

Both attacks collide sending shockwaves throughout the Phantom Lord base. Wind and dust fly everywhere and Lucy. Happy, and Phantom Lord Mages are all caught up in it.

"That's it no more complaining. I'm outta here. It's the fourth time we've been caught up in this crap" yelled the Phantom Lord Mages as they ran off.

"It seems we now know who the stronger dragon is Salamander" said Gajeel. Even if your flaming breath can wipe out you enemies, it is useless towards my steel. Not even a scratch. But my steel breath has ripped up your body. Heahahe!"

"Oh, not a scratch you say? You sure you're not just light headed" said Natsu.

"You've got some big ba" began Gajeel before he fell to one knee. His scales cracking across his body.

"It cracked" yelled Lucy excited. "I knew Natsu could do it"

"Fire Dragon Flames are not just normal flames. They destroy everything without fail. Now get serious, Gajeel the Iron Dragon Slayer. Or I'll bury you." Yelled Natsu as he threw his shirt off and let his power surge.

"Fine then Natsu, the Salamander. Enough feeling each other out. There isn't enough room in the sky for two dragons!" yelled Gajeel as he too powered up.

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><p>They began to trade blows at a rapid pace. Jumping high, they crashed through the ceiling and began fighting in the air. Right hook, block, left straight duck. They caught each other's punches, counter attacked and fought entirely on instinct.<p>

Landing on opposite sides of the roof, they again charged at each other. They first met with a powerful head-butt followed by Natsu landing a strong kick to Gajeel's chin. The wild haired man then countered with a right cross to Natsu's cheek.

Both slayers blocked the others punch with one of their own. They continued to exchange punches and solid kicks until they collided fist to fist, making them fall through the roof.

Both landing on their feet, they breathed heavily. Panting hard, Natsu looked through the clearing smoke to see Gajeel eating iron debris from the wreckage.

"Hey don't eat by yourself bastard. How rude!" yelled Natsu. "So not fair"

"Shudap" yelled Gajeel with his mouth full.

"Wow he really eats iron. I wonder if that hurts at all. Is it tasty like fish?" spoke Happy to Lucy who just stared in amazement.

"Thanks for the grub" said Gajeel as he wiped his mouth clean. "I'm all revved up"

"Don't copy me asshole" yelled Natsu but was interrupted by Gajeel letting out a roar of power. "Shit, if only I could eat, then I could have a power up too."

"I'll rip you to shreds!" yelled the Iron Dragon Slayer as he finished powering up. "Spears of the Iron Dragon."

Jumping high and pointing his elongated iron nails at Natsu, Gajeel shot out iron spears from his fingers, sending Natsu onto his back.

"Shit do I have a fire spirit" yelled Lucy as she looked through her pockets. "Of course not but I need to help Natsu" cried Lucy as she tried to think.

Natsu still on his back could not get up. His arm was impaled with one of the iron spears and it pinned him to the floor.

Landing on top of Natsu, Gajeel began to unload powerful blows on the pinned down Fire Slayer. He threw punch after punch as the defenseless pinkette jumped took the punishment.

"Is that all you've got left Salamander? Too bad I was having a little fun" teased Gajeel slightly disappointed.

"I'm not done yet. I have to save Lucy!" yelled Natsu as he tried to pull the spear out of his shoulder. He was heavily wounded and his energy was failing him. He coughed up a little blood as he gave all his energy to unpin himself but sadly his efforts were in vain.

"Save the Princess? How are you going to do that? I could kill you both right now. Who knows, I might even do it" said Gajeel as his face shadowed over, his eyes glowing red like a demon.

"You bastard, you'd think I'd let you. You a…" began Natsu before he was slammed with Gajeel's Pillar arm.

"Oh yeah I'd like to see you try, heahaheea!" laughed the Iron Dragon maniacally as he began walking towards Lucy.

"You bastard stop" cried Natsu but was ignored. He again tried to unpin himself but again it was no use.

Happy ran in front of Lucy and stood between the two. "I won't let you hurt my friends" yelled Happy with tears in his eyes.

"Move you blue stuffed animal" yelled Gajeel as he kicked Happy across the room.

"You son of a bitch" yelled the pinned mage desperately as he squirmed to get free. He soon stopped as he was making his wound much worse and he was close to passing out from the pain.

"Hey princess, you're knight tried to save you from the dragon but too bad, he lost. So you can stay forever and be with me. You aren't that bad looking, even for a Fairy Bitch. And you've got huge t…" began the slayer before Lucy yelled out in objection.

"I'd never stay with you asshole. You hurt my friends, destroyed my guild, and beat me for heaven's sake. I'd rather die!" yelled Lucy before she was pinned to the wall by her face. Gajeel held her up with just one arm and gripped her head tightly causing her to scream.

"Lucy!" yelled Natsu as his pupils disappeared making his eyes pure white.

Still pinned against the wall, Lucy tried to kick Gajeel but his iron body proved to make her attempts futile. Slamming her head against the wall, Gajeel knocked her out. He then threw her body across the room towards where Happy was and turned towards Natsu.

"Well I guess I'll kill you first, Salamander. Then I'll do whatever I feel like with her. We'll see what I'm in the mood for. Sounds fun huh?" spoke Gajeel as he approached Natsu.

Reaching his hand out grab him, Gajeel was stopped when an incredible amount of force was emitted from the pinkette. He was actually pushed back several feet and was drenched in a cold sweat. "What power. It's almost triple our power before. No he's a dead man who's pinned down I can" began Gajeel before Natsu snapped the iron spear freeing himself.

"You hurt my guild, you hurt Happy, and you hurt" began Natsu as his magic flared again, his face now covered in what looked like scales. "And most importantly, you hurt MY LUCY!" yelled Natsu as he disappeared from in front of Gajeel causing his eyes to go wide.

Lucy was woken up to the sound of her name being yelled and when her vision cleared, she saw Happy next to her. She glanced over to the fight and was shocked at what she saw.

"Shit" yelled Gajeel as the Fire Dragon Slayer reappeared behind him and send him flying with a bone crushing kick to the ribs. "I'll return all the pain you've given to my guild one hundred times over" yelled Natsu as he reappeared behind where he sent Gajeel flying and hit him towards the floor.

Crashing down towards him Natsu began to endlessly hit Gajeel.

"For the guild bastard, **Talons of the Fire Dragon!**" yelled Natsu as he axe kicked Gajeel further into the ground before throwing him back into the air. He then jumped and punched Gajeel even higher. **"**For Happy, **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!**" yelled Natsu as he sent Gajeel into one of the few parts of the ceiling still intact.

"Arghh" yelled Gajeel as he hit the ceiling hard and spurting up blood and spit. He then realized to his horror that he was stuck in the concrete and couldn't escape. "_Damn this is bad_" thought Gajeel as he realized he had barely any magic power left.

As Natsu charged him Gajeel made a last ditch effort to win. "**Roar of the Iron Dragon**" yelled Gajeel.

Natsu charged right into it and with one twist of his hands, he redirected his attack and was left unharmed.

"What the... _with his bare hands. Shit this is really bad_" was all that he could process before Natsu was on him.

Natsu caught up to him and grabbed his face with one hand. He then ripped him out of the concrete and free fell landing with his feet in the Iron Dragon Slayers stomach. From point blank range, Natsu lined up to Gajeel and smirked. "This is it for you asshole.

"**Roar of the Fire Dragonn!**" roared Natsu as he launched a torrent of flames from point blank at Gajeel. This sent the Iron Dragon through all four floors of the hideout and the water below. Natsu stood proud over the hole in the floor knowing that he had won.

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><p>With his eyes regaining their onyx color and the scales fading, Natsu began to fall but was caught by Lucy. He turned to his blonde guild mate and smiled.<p>

"I thought you didn't have any more magic power Natsu. How did you pull this off without fire" asked Lucy as she supported Natsu with her arms.

Staring at Lucy, Natsu grinned a face splitting smile. "You're the brightest flame I'll ever need".

Lucy didn't even have time to blush before Natsu leaned in and captured her lips in his making her go wide eyed. They held the same position and Lucy didn't kiss him back due to shock. Lucy fell with Natsu due to her overwhelming surprise. She landed on top of him which led to him pulling out of the kiss and staring into her eyes.

Realizing what he just did he blushed also. "Oh my god Lucy I'm so sorry. I got caught up in the moment and I probably have head trauma and well please don't hit me" sputtered Natsu looked away embarrassed.

Lucy just stared at him in disbelief, her brown doe eyes still showing her shock. "Let me see something" said Lucy quietly.

Natsu went to say something but was cut off when Lucy pulled his attention to her and kissed him. This time they both melted into the kiss and it lasted longer. When they finally needed to breathe, they pulled apart.

"Wow, I could get used to that" said Natsu with a goofy grin.

"Well my knight did save me from a dragon so he deserved at least a kiss" said Lucy with a smile.

"And maybe a few dates" asked Natsu playfully.

"Oh yeah at least" said Lucy as she again kissed her rescuer.

"Oooohh" purred happy childishless. "They liiiike each other"

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><p>And that's a wrap. My first NaLu Fanfiction! Tell me if you liked it or not and how my fighting scene was since that was also a first.<p>

By the way, i like Gajeel as a character so this wasn't a hate piece.

On a side note if you follow or have read Naruto's Lunch-Time Chronicles, I will be removing it and doing a whole rewrite. It wasn't exciting or interesting so I'll fix that! I'll make it way better so be ready.

Hope you enjoyed and stay safe!


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